“Love! Valour! Compassion!” in G-Sync

Benjy Schrim and Joe Worth of “Love! Valour! Compassion!” at Actors’ Theatre Photo credit: Dave Kagan of Sensitography

Check out this wonderful quote from Tommy Allen of Rapid Growth:

LVC is one of those rare theatrical gems where, in the end – even after a thrilling ride of emotions filled with the tripping over of fine lines between laughter and tears (and with little to no warning due again to the fine writing of McNally), upon curtain we would find ourselves almost glad to get back in line to experience it all over again. LVC is a testament to the power of theatre to make us connect as humans and our willingness to show up again and again even when we know pain is often a product of our love.   […]

Read the rest of the article on www.rapidgrowthmedia.com.

Check out more photos from the production on Actors’ Theatre Facebook page.

Reserve your tickets for the final two performances at: atgr.org!

 

Last Weekend for [title of show]!

There is one more weekend to see [title of show] at Actors’ Theatre! Hurry over to www.actorstheatregrandrapids.org and order your tickets – they are going fast!

Photo from the Actors’ Theatre production of [title of show], playing from March 28th through April 6, 2013 at GRCC Spectrum Theater.
Photo Credit: Dave Kagan, Sensitography — with Ellie Frances, George Toles, Rob Karel and Jolene Frankey at Actors’ Theatre Grand Rapids.

Want to learn more? Check out this excerpt from a 3 star review by Lorilee Cracker from mlive.com:

“Untitled Opening Number” opens a show like none other — a show within a show, and then within another show. “{title of show}” makes one’s head spin with all the zigzagging from reality to alternate reality and back, but the Actor’s Theatre production, which opened Thursday night in Spectrum Theater, is such brash, bracing fun, the audience rolls with it.

(Read the full review on www.mlive.com)

Or, check out what Tommy Allen had to say on Rapid Growth Media about [title of show]:

TOS has not only touched the nerve of the creative process in a beautifully rich and original way, but it is a light-hearted musical with snappy tunes that explores the depths of how we create and why.

In the end, TOS reminds the viewer that, yes, you can dream and create a life you love. These characters do struggle, but they affirm that while life might give us the pits, we are left with a lovely bowl of cherries.

(Read the full article on Rapid Growth Media.)

And of course, you already like us on Facebook, right? Did you see the great production stills by Dave Kagan?

So what are you waiting for? Reserve your seats today!!

“A Steady Rain” in G-Sync on Rapid Growth Media

Thanks to Rapid Growth Media for taking a look at Actors’ Theatre’s current production, A Steady Rain, by Keith Huff! Here’s an excerpt:

A Steady Rain: Police Thriller Too Close to the Bone

There is no shortage of crime drama programming on TV and our cinema screens, and it is just as plentiful to see crime in real time in our world. But theatre is yet another place where they tear away the fourth wall and allow us to peer voyeuristically into something pretty darn close to reality. And in this arena, intimacy and access create the perfect storm for a crime-based thriller to work its magic within the viewer.

When Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain opens in Grand Rapids , this inspired-by-the-headlines play will have been workshopped in our neighboring city of Chicago and received a star-studded Broadway debut with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig before finally landing at Actors’ Theatre of Grand Rapids.

But what makes this production really soar in the eyes of those who enjoy a (pardon my wording) tasty thriller is that this story is exquisitely revealed through the device of only using two actors to propel this heartfelt story of childhood best friends who became partners within the Chicago Police Department. (…)

Read more from the article on the Rapid Growth Media website and then hop on over to the Actors’ Theatre website for ticket information! There is just one weekend left – you don’t want to miss this!

G-SYNC Takes a Look at “Nadia” in Rapid Growth Media

Check out this amazing article about Actors’ first show of the 2012-2013 Season:

Nadia: Debut of Erotic Theatrical Work that Transforms Everything

OPENING: THURSDAY, SEPT. 27, 7:30 PM (THRU 10/6)

Actors’ Theatre at GRCC’s Spectrum Theatre, 160 Fountain NE

As I read the script for the stage debut of Nadia, I had to keep stopping to ask myself how they would stage David Turkel’s newest theatrical drama at Actors’ Theatre, the home of the play’s world premiere.

But if I have learned anything over the years when it comes to productions at Actors’ Theatre, it is best to trust that they will deliver a fantastic debut, just as they did last year with Rust by Austin Bunn at the start of their 2011-2012 season.

(Exhale.)

And while on the topic of breathing, I have no doubt that the audience members will, at times, have to remind themselves to breathe during this erotically charged play that seeks to look at the delicate lines that divides art, pornography and war. It reminds me that artists are sometimes the best catalyst in our society to help us navigate the bumpy terrain of society.

Nadia is the story of a Russian artist by the same name who either has ignited the imaginations of the art world in rapture, or fanned the flames of condemnation from a hypocritical public. Nadia as an artist presents to others on stage her frank and disturbingly rich taboo imagery and the methods she employs to their creation.

There are moments in this new work by Turkel where remembering to breathe are at the subtle center of the story. This is theatre at its very best.

Nadia’s leap from the page to the stage is also a challenge in that the use of a live video feed is woven into the story. It is sure to enthrall those imaginations of all theatergoers as this creative device takes a leading role in a stellar cast made up of veterans and first-time actors.

Actors’ Theatre receives about 150-200 full-length new stage works each year and if they survive the workshop or reading phase (which includes for many a public debut through a reading like those held at UICA this last Spring), we have the opportunity as a community to see groundbreaking new works likeNadia nurtured and produced on Actors’ stage.

“Nadia appeared last fall when David (Turkel) gave a copy [of the play] to our literary manager, Randy Wyatt,” says Actor’s Director of Development and Marketing Jonathon Clausen, who is also acting in this work. “It is the kind of play that will appeal to those seeking a contemporary theatrical experience, as well as those who prefer dramatic literature from great American playwrights like Tennessee Williams, Sam Shepard or David Mamet.”

Clausen’s assessment is pretty spot-on, as one having read works by these American playwrights. Nadiaand works like this that seek to engage in the difficult conversations of life illustrate why theatre is not only alive on the stage, but how when we embrace the unknown, it will breathe a freshness into the American theatre wing of our culture.

(Exhale.)

Tickets and Performance Dates:

Sept. 27 – 29 & Oct. 4-6, all performances start at 8:00

For more information and to reserve your tickets, go to: www.atgr.org

“August: Osage County” in G-Sync on Rapid Growth Media

 August: Osage County in the media again.  Check out this excerpt from www.rapidgrowthmedia.com

August: Osage County: Pulitzer Prize Winner Wraps It All Up

“This is a saga of a family that covers generations. It ranks right up there with the great family dramas like Death of a Salesman and Long Days Journey Into Night,” says Fred Sebulske, director and founder of Actors’ Theatre on the Grand Rapids premier of the Chicago Steppenwolf Theater and 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, August: Osage County. “People say those plays are dark, but when they are done well, they have humor and beauty.”

A dark look at a contemporary Midwestern American family, August: Osage County is a revelation both on stage with the actors and the powerful representation of how repression often reveals itself in shocking and startling ways.

Don’t let people tell you the dramatic arts are dead because this play, which had a successful run in New York and London before arriving here in Grand Rapids, is a tour de force of powerful American storytelling.

“August: Osage County is play that both looks toward the future of live theatre while hearkening back to great theatrical works of the past such as Eugene O’Neill or Tennessee Williams, with maybe a bit of Sam Shepard and Lillian Hellman thrown in for good measure!” says Jonathan Clausen, director of Development and Marketing at Actors’ Theatre. “Frankly, I couldn’t think of a better way to close out our 31st Season and enter our 32nd — or a better group of actors to show us all how it’s done. ”

(…)

Be sure and read the complete article at:  www.rapidgrowthmedia.com

---

Box Office Information for Actors’ Theatre

Box office hours are Monday through Friday from 1:00PM until 5:00 PM, beginning three weeks prior to performance. The box office will be open from 1PM until show time on the day of performance.

Spectrum Theater is located at:

160 Fountain Street NE [map]
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

To contact the box office, please call (616)234-3946 or click here to view current ticket offerings.